Patrick Farenga

Location: Medford, Mass.

Biographical Information

Patrick Farenga is a writer and education activist who worked closely with the late author and teacher John Holt and continues his work today as the president of HoltGWS LLC. After Holt died, Farenga published Growing Without Schooling magazine (GWS) from 1985 until 2001. GWS was the nation’s first periodical about learning without going to school, started by Holt in 1977. Farenga speaks as a homeschooling expert at education conferences around the world, as well as on commercial radio and television talk shows.

Farenga writes about homeschooling for a number of trade and academic publications and he operates the John Holt/Growing Without Schooling website, www.johnholtgws.com, and is a founding member of www.alternativestoschool.com. Farenga’s recent publications include, Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling (Perseus, 2003); and The Legacy of John Holt: A Man Who Genuinely Understood, Trusted, and Respected Children (HoltGWS, 2013).